Baglio di Pianetto, a winery in Sicily, was the setting for Jenn & Mike’s intimate wedding last year. Pre-pandemic, they still opted for a small wedding, inviting just 20 guests. The wedding took place on a Tuesday evening and after a short, symbolic ceremony, they hosted a simple Sicilian meal for their loved ones. They kept things as fuss-free as possible – there was no band, no big décor elements and no forced itinerary for the day.

Originally they planned to elope, but when their friends and families found out they were going to Sicily, where the groom’s grandparents were from, a few of them wanted to come along, too. The planned an adventure for everyone for the week before where they all travelled around the country in caravans visiting wineries, ruins, olive farms and beaches. The couple had some maps of the trip they all took made which were a really lovely memento of everywhere they went.

The bride was walked down the aisle by her uncle, and the groom’s cousin officiated. “My best friend since high school was maid of honour and my husband’s godfather was his best man”, she continued. “It was a real family affair. I walked to Cat Power’s cover of Wild is the Wind. It was very much our style, through and through. We wrote our own vows in a mad rush right before because we had to figure out the ceremony in the wine cellar last-minute because it was threatening rain – which would have been really cool and edgy, just dark. But luckily the weather held and we had it in front of the vineyards.”

The couples’ advice – especially to those of you having a destination wedding – would be to reconfirm everything just beforehand. “One of the hotels cancelled on us the week before, and I wouldn’t even have known if I didn’t reach back out to confirm our arrival time!” Jenn said. “We scrambled to find a replacement and not much was left to have the whole group together. So, reconfirm. Everything. Especially if you’re traveling and dealing with language barriers!”